Matthews Calls Clinton Press Shop "Lousy," "Kneecappers"

Chris Matthews fired a salvo at the Clinton campaign this morning after both he and his MSNBC colleague were privately and publicly rebuked for recent comments deemed misogynistic or inappropriate.

Appearing on MSNBC's Morning Joe, the Hardball host went off on the Clinton press shop, calling them "knee cappers" who were "lousy" and delve in the business of "intimidation."

"What she has to do is get rid of the kneecapers that work for her, these press people whose main job seems to be punishing Obama or going after the press, to building a positive case for her," said Matthews. "Her campaign slogan right now is don't get your hopes up. That won't work in America. You can't diminish Obama and hope that you will rise from the ashes."

Asked why he believed Clinton had gone negative, Matthews again struck an antagonistic chord about the campaign's media operation.

"The kneecapping hasn't worked. Her press relations are lousy," he said. "If all you do is intimidate and punish and claim you'll get even relentlessly, people of all kinds of politicians -- and in all fairness, the press -- human reaction to intimidation is screw you. That's the human reaction. Don't tell me what to say, and that has been their whole policy. We're going to win this thing. Get out of the way."

Animosity between the Clinton campaign and MSNBC has been intense and well documented. Last week, for the first time, it bubbled to the surface, when the Clintons pressed for correspondent David Shuster to be suspended (and, perhaps, fired) for claiming that they had "pimped out" Chelsea Clinton to help secure the support of super delegates. Schuster offered an on-air apology and has since been suspended by the network.

Matthews, himself, was long thought to be at the center of the Clintons' ire, for critical coverage and remarks that attributed the senator's success to her husband's infidelities. And indeed, yesterday, Talking Points Memo's Greg Sargent reported that "Hillary's advisers" have "repeatedly taken their grievance with Matthews directly to the network."

Comments

[ErinG]

The notion that Matthews is pro-Obama is hogwash. Not too long ago, Matthews ridiculed Obama for addressing Clinton’s deliberate distortions of his record. Matthews said, “Clinton is living inside his head rent-free.”

[loisteagulp]

And he suggested Senator Obama stop letting her. He wasn't slamming him, he was giving free campaign advice.

[ErinG]

Obama shouldn’t respond to Clinton’s deliberate distortions of his record? Give me a break!

[veracity]

Thanks for that, Sam!
**"What she has to do is get rid of the kneecapers that work for her, these press people whose main job seems to be punishing Obama or going after the press, to building a positive case for her," said Matthews. "Her campaign slogan right now is don't get your hopes up. That won't work in America. You can't diminish Obama and hope that you will rise from the ashes."**
"HER CAMPAIGN SLOGAN RIGHT NOW IS, 'DON'T GET YOUR HOPES UP...I am INEVITABLE" is about the best one-sentence summation of Hillary's campaign I have heard yet!
My main complaint with Hillary (among many) over the past months is that she REFUSES to go on "librul talk radio" and speak unscripted... UN-CONTROLLED. Like Bush, she is attempting to completely control the narrative, CONTROL each and every story, each and every appearance like a staged campaign event. Sorry, Hillary... Democracy doesn't work that way. We want our leaders to be brave enough to face us in person, unscripted, and with easily defined positions and voting records.... not Byzantine evasions and an aura of imperial inevitability.
Asked why he believed Clinton had gone negative, Matthews again struck an antagonistic chord about the campaign's media operation.

[riverhouse]

Kneecapping and lying are the only way the Clintons know how to operate.

[scandals&skeletons]

demojak, i will do better i will give you one about obama from b oth hillary and bill, and for good measure i'll throw in one more from bill.

heres number one a direct quote no interpretation:

Bill Clinton, speaking of his wife: "Her principal opponent said that since 1992, the Republicans have had all the good ideas. I can't imagine any Democrat seeking the presidency would say they were the party of new ideas for the last 15 years. But it sounded good in Reno, I guess.... So now it turns out you can choose between somebody who thinks our ideas are better or the Republicans had all the good ideas."

here is one from hillary straight from the debate.

Clinton: [He] has said in the last week that he really liked the ideas of the Republicans over the last 10 to 15 years, and we can give you the exact quote. … They were ideas like privatizing Social Security, like moving back from a balanced budget and a surplus to deficit and debt.


and here is your bonus lie:

"Even though I approved of Afghanistan and opposed Iraq from the beginning," said Clinton, "I still resent that I was not asked or given the opportunity to support those soldiers."

Clinton has long been critical of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and called it a "big mistake" as far back as November of 2005.

But like his wife, the former president supported giving President Bush the authority needed to go to war.

"I supported the President when he asked the Congress for authority to stand up against weapons of mass destruction in Iraq," said Clinton in 2003 while delivering commencement remarks at Tougaloo College in Jackson, Miss.

[ChimpmasterDJ]

Taking a combative stance with an adversarial press can only work if you're on the side of the angels in everything. And even then, it's better to use charm and diplomacy. Unfortunately, whatever charm the Clintons may have had in the past, was apparently the exclusive province of Bill, and he's lost it spectacularly since those heady days.

[ACunningham]

This is HILLARYOUS:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rleUPHX8yfM

[darlamc]

Almost as funny as this...almost...

www.politicalamnesia.blogspot.com

[ACunningham]

Cute way of promoting your Services:

"Political operative in NC, NY, CA, and a little in SC. Local, State, and National Elections. LGBT strategist, labor strategist, minority strategist."

Hope that Billary have already paid you your fees before they overspend poor taxpayers' moneys, again!

[BatedBreath]

Darla - you do realize this was filmed in 2001 even before rummy was in office, don't you? Before 9/11, before Afghanistan, before the Iraq invasion. And it is taken out of context. So what is your point other than trying to frame an argument with innuendo?

At least Matthews comes right out and says what he thinks without resorting to snide snippets like this.

[barackoblogger]

Hillary's campaign engages in name-calling and lies. They have continually called Obama a "Stuffed shirt" and thrown "Where's the Beef" type slurs.

Here's the beef:

Obama is the only candidate to have released his tax forms. (neither McCain or Clinton have)

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/15/opinion/15fri1.html?_r=3&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

Obama has released his earmarks. (Clinton has not)

http://obama.senate.gov/press/070621-obama_announces_3/

Hillary Clinton reigns as the Queen of Federal Pork

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=aXWIZU3DOyr4&refer=home

Obama was rated #1 in environmental policy by the League of Conservation Voters

http://presidentialprofiles2008.org/

Obama was right about Pakistan, back when Hillary was calling him "naive"

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/11/06/navarrette/?iref=mpstoryview

Washington Post gave Obama's economic plan an A- and gave Hillary's a C.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/22/AR2008012202614.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

Wall Street Journal preferred Obama's healthcare plan over Hillary Clinton's

http://online.wsj.com/public/article_print/SB120234937353949449.html

Judge Obama by his legislative achievments, which are quite impressive, according to the Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/03/AR2008010303303.html

[democraticjack]

LOL. No one ever called Obama a "stuffed shirt"; I believe it was "empty suit".

[realpolitic]

Let's just compromise and call him a "stuffed, empty suit."

[union79]

Thanks for this post with great links.

Speaks to the "empty shirt" question..... but then I suppose Clinton and McCain supporters will say these sources aren't reliable :+)

[the964kid]

Chris Mathews' show is called HARDBALL! He goes after a lot of people on all sides. And some of his operations of the Clinton campaign are right on target. If she wants more positive press coverage then do something real to generate a good story (go 2 maybe 3 weeks without winning a contest doesn't help). I'm thinking a Clinton presidency would be more and more like a Bush presidency. Despite what Clinton might think: this is America, and the press has freedom to say what they want and citizens have the choice to believe the coverage or not. Hillary, you're not Vladamir Putin and this isn't Russia.

[Skywatch]

Matthews is a total disgrace to the concept of journalistic broadcasting, although he has become more of an entertainer than a political pundit. His insensitive and inappropriate comments are way out of line. It appears that MSNBC is unwilling to pull the plug on this guy, allowing him to shoot off at the mouth whenever he feels like it. There appears to be two standards with this network. It's ok to humiliate a Caucasian woman and get away with it, but if you speak unkindly of African-American women as did Imos In The Morning, then you get fired. It's no wonder that this network is so low among network viewers.

[veracal]

Matthews is a thin skinned, ignorant, sexist creep. The media has been engaging in unfair attacks on Hillary, especially MSNBC. But comparing an attack on student athletes to attacks on Clinton is sort of disingenous.

Additionally, if you want MSNBC to take your complaints seriously then you and others should be complaining to their advertisers and their corporate bosses.

Imus was fired because his sponsors were pressured into pulling their ads. Nothing will happen to Tucker, Matthews, Shuster or any one else unless the money begins to dry up.

[BatedBreath]

I've never heard Matthews bad mouthing Hillary because I don't watch him or I watch him very seldom, better said. I am a Barack supporter, so I don't think you can blame Matthews for every negative assessment of Hillary. She has some issues and is not dealing with them very well.

[cacamp]

Skywatch sure seems like a pitiful whiteboy worried about his inadequate sexual apparatus. Or perhaps an poor whitewoman longing for more. Whichever it is it's racism is so 1950's that even Imus wouldn't agree with it.

[realpolitic]

I am glad you are not throwing around generalizations.

[SEQUOIABISON]

I very rarely agree with Chris Matthews but in his assessment of the Hillary campaign I find myself in total agreement. They are hit and run knee cappers.

[democraticjack]

And you know this because......Chris Matthews told you? Proof please. Actual proof and not rightwingnut talking points.

[realpolitic]

I live for right-wing talking points.

[scandals&skeletons]

wow, i have read like a 100 posts bashing the hell out of mathews. do any of you own a remote? it changes the channel or turns the tv off in case your wondering.

[jamielswa]

Yes, I see what you mean. Problem is that the people who are making these comments do not understand the shows. On MsNBC, it is called Hardball with Chris Matthews. He is there to ask questions of guests, get straight answers or call answers bull, and give his opinion. Shuster's comment came on Tucker's show, while Shuster was being a guest host. On Tucker's title screen it says OPINION. Maybe Shuster was right in his comment, Chelsea was reported to have breakfast with a 21 year old Super Delegate. Maybe he should have chose different words to express his opinion.
On CNN, you have Lou Dobbs, with his opinion show, and the Jack Cafferty files on the Situation Room, not to mention the other opinions from guests and others on the Situation room. FOX we will not talk about, one show with news and the rest opinions.
The thing that people need to understand is that if you are watching these shows for news, you missed something a long time ago. These shows have never been about news, but about peoples opinions on news.
jamielswa
visit obamafaithful.com
visit, comment, bring friends, build the future

[ErinG]

Right on!

[veracal]

Chris Matthews is a misogynistic idiot and a Bush enabler. I want to believe that he is NOT that important, and that most voters do NOT watch MSNBC and are NOT making choices based on what their idiot pundits say.

I think that the media should be fairly scrutinizing Hillary, because that is their damn job. The problem I see is that they are attacking her unfairly, and they are NOT giving any type of real scrutiny to Obama and McCain.

Waiting for the corporate media to provide accurate reporting and relevant news is like waiting for Bush to say he was wrong about Iraq. It is not going to happen.

[darlamc]

Has anybody ever asked Obama about this-

www.politicalamnesia.blogspot.com

[BatedBreath]

Darla - you do realize this was filmed in 2001 even before rummy was in office, don't you? Before 9/11, before Afghanistan, before the Iraq invasion. And it is taken out of context. So what is your point other than trying to frame an argument with innuendo?

At least Matthews comes right out and says what he thinks without resorting to snide snippets like this.

[DeniseT]

Oh My God! What is the deal with obsessing over Chris Matthews. I don't have the exact numbers but I'm pretty sure the MSNBC evening lineup gets consistently creamed by Fox and CNN. I'm confused as to why everyone is crediting him with so much influence on Hillary's campaign.

If Hillary loses, it won't be because of anything Chris or Keith says. It will be because her message is flawed and ever-changing. It will be because she didn't connect with voters. If the press has so much influence, then she never would have won NH. Stop blaiming others when your candidate doesn't do well. People are making up their own minds.

As far as all the "horrible statements" that Chris makes - I believe that you can switch to FOX at any time and hear much worse - and if you want to use your radio, just listen to Rush.

If you don't like his show, then don't watch it.

[Dancer]

YOU may be making up your own mind..but I suggest you get out more and talk/listen to "people" to see what is influencing their decision making. It is so obvious that people aren't listening to the candidates...they are listening to the likes of Matthews/B­litzer/Rus­sert et al tell them what the candidates are saying and what that means...try listening to whole speeches and or reading entire articles that present a candidates positions ...then listen to these highly paid pundits spew their stupidity!!!

[scandals&skeletons]

dancer, i have not talked to one person who is going to vote based on what mathews or any other pundit says. this is the age of the internet and fact checking is readily available.

[scandals&skeletons]

it's the blame game, one played to perfection by hillary and her campaign. if she loses it is because she is a woman, the msm treated her unfairly, and i am sure they have a litany of other excuses at the ready.
in my opinion the turning point of this campaign was when bill, after iowa, ran his mouth and started lying about things obama said and stood for, as well as lying about his own stance on the iraq war. this reminded folks that they don't want to go back to the good ol days because the good ol days were not all good.

[pleeezzze]

In my opinion, you run your mouth all the time !!
Any Lying seems to come from you !!
What are you running for ??

[bauersox]

In Matthews' case, it's too bad the press shop stopped at his knees. I think the news media need to make it clear to the public -- but mainly to their staffs -- where punditry begins, and objective news coverage ends. Certainly we shouldn't be seeing the likes of Matthews or Shuster on shows that purport to be news shows. And they shouldn't be intermingled with news shows either; it's still biased when the format is first the news, immediately followed by somebody's opinion. And who are these people -- Matthews, Shuster, Limbaugh, O'Reilly -- that their opinions should count for anything at all? Aside from being snide and loudmouthed, do they have any actual creds?

[Lolalabloggera]

You're right. There's something incestous about the punditry family. Scarborough interviews Matthews. Matthews interviews Russert. Russert solicits Buchana's opinions. Buchanan opines at Scarborough's Morning Joe...and so on and so forth.

[ErinG]

Disclaimers are necessary? If you can’t tell the difference between opinion and news, you’re the one with the problem.

[bauersox]

I'm a professional reporter, and at all the papers I've worked for, a person could get sacked for revealing a political affiliation or preference. Broadcast news should operate the same way. Opinion pieces should clearly be designated as such.

[CharlotteNH]

I've watched Hardball with Chris Matthews for a long time. Not because I'm a fan of Chris's but because I am a political junkie. He is increasingly becoming more and more full of himself, a dirty old man (comments made to numerous female guests), and a lousy interviewer. He apparently feels his comments and analysis are more important than his guests as evidenced by him asking his guests questions and then not "shutting up" while they answer. On a recent show, Chuck Todd, for example, seemed to have come to the same conclusion.

As far as his comments about the Clinton campaign, one needs to think about his possible motives. Some believe that his comments prior to the NH primary may have turned the tide based on sympathy for Hillary.

Are Chris's recent (and sure to continue)comments meant to change the direction of this campaign? Has he become THAT full of himself? Me thinks so.

[scandals&skeletons]

he definitely comes across as a pig.

[lacitepq]

I too have watched Hardball for some time and have noticed the same progression you have. He seems to be a lot less rational these days and his occassional gushing is so inappropriate. Remember the college girl who did that short video about Hillary. I was disgusted by the coverage he gave to it all the while drooling in the background. Its been obvious for some time that he is obsessed with the Clintons. He has totally overanalyzed them. Putting Coulter on too a while back was a new low. She had nothing to add other than spewing her usual BS. I used to love watching Hardball primarily for the insight provided by his guests, but I can no longer stomach Matthews and have stopped watching.

[bauersox]

Maybe firing is too good for Chris Matthews.

[realpolitic]

He has been on the air around ten years.

[nancytheragingliberal]

I felt sorry for the Clintons, with the 24/7 conservative media bashing them over Monica. Now I see with the Clintons is: What is good for the goose in not good for the gander. Hillary did not accept Schuster's apology, but demanded his head on a silver platter. "Fire him," said she. The fact that they hold grudges and are filled with revenge is enought to tell me that Obama is just what this country needs. Hope. The last thing the country needs is more hate, neo-con style. We will get all we need from ol' John, "let's have war and more wars and bankrupt what is left of the treasury, bring back the draft and kill more of our teen-age soldiers" McCain. Yes John, why, that's the ticket American can embrace. NOT.

[Ndri789]

Me thinks that Shuster's head IS NOT ENOUGH. WE need the HEADS and BALLS of Tweet AND Shuster well roasted on the spikes of a fork and hoisted high above the crowds.

[Jjc2006]

Please stop spreading LIES. Hillary never asked for him to be fired. Read the damn letter. It's available all over the net.
She said the "suspension is not enough" and what is needed is a CHANGE IN THE PATTERN OF BEHAVIOR ON MSNBC.
Typical Obamaniac....using lies and spin to make the Clintons the evil doers and defending assh*les like Shuster and Matthews.

[ErinG]

Yeah, and I’m the tooth fairy.

[bauersox]

Whatever Hillary may think, a lot of other people think Shuster should have been fired. Matthews, too.

[Lolalabloggera]

NANCY LIES. Hillary did not say "fire him." You can find her full letter at mediamatters.com.
She nwas not asking for his head. What she said was that there's a pattern of sexist comments (fully documented by mediamatters) in most of the talk shows (Matthews, Carlson, Scarborough, sometimes even Oberlman.
Check your facts before spouting off.